


The Alternative

by PeriodDramaWriter



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Reconciliation, Romance, husband and wife
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 12:56:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16040909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeriodDramaWriter/pseuds/PeriodDramaWriter
Summary: What if - on the evening of Miss Lind's performance - Charity revealed to her husband how she had felt when she had caught him looking at her with such admiration and wonder in his eyes? Would she have made him realize that he was putting his show and his fame before she and their daughters? Would she have made him see just how much his pride was hurting her? Find out here!





	The Alternative

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this is any good because I wrote it super late at night, but I hope it isn't too bad! Please enjoy!

It was coming up to midnight when Phineas finally made it home from the theatre, a soft yawn falling from his lips as he unlocked the front door before stepping inside the quiet house and closing it behind him as he removed his hat. He then ventured into the foyer before coming to a slow stop when his gaze fell on his wife and he saw that she was sat at the bottom of the split-staircase, her cheeks stained with tears as her golden curls hung over her shoulders and she was dressed in her nightgown. 'You're back.' She said, tears coating her perfect voice as her hands were clasped together in her lap. 'Better late than never, I suppose.' She then rose to her feet before beginning to head upstairs, Phineas frowning as he walked over to the split-staircase.

'Charity.' She stopped at the sound of his voice but kept her back to him as another tear escaped her eye and danced over the smooth curve of her cheek. 'What's wrong? Is there something that I've done to upset you?' She began to turn in place on the staircase then, a look of slight disbelief written across her face as her hazel brown eyes shone with unshod tears as she looked at him in silence for a short time and he raised his brow.

She willed herself not to explode into tears as she looked into the eyes of the man she'd once known; of the man who was now somewhat of a stranger to her, her heart breaking as she swallowed the tears that were clawing their way up her throat. 'Did you know that your box at the theatre gives whoever sits in it a perfect view of the wings?' She asked. 'I thought that Miss Lind looked gorgeous tonight – truly, I did – and I was so looking forward to hearing her sing, but I just couldn't focus on her in the slightest. Do you know why?' She paused for a moment as her lower lip quivered, Phineas' brow creasing as she looked up at her. 'Because out of the corner of my eye I could see you standing in the wings and looking at her like you used to look at me.'

The crease in his brow only deepened.

'You couldn't take your eyes off of her, Phinn.' She was unable to suppress the gentle sob that tore itself free from her throat. 'You were stood there gawping at her from the second she opened her mouth to the second she closed it and whenever you managed to tear your eyes off of her, it was just so that you could make sure that Mr. Bennett was enjoying her performance. Not  _once_ did you look at me. Do you know how much that hurt me? To have you look at another woman as though she were the most captivating thing you had ever seen? You haven't looked at me like that for so many years.' She sniffled. 'Not since I was pregnant with Helen.'

Phineas felt his heart sink as he watched several tears scroll down her cheeks. 'Charity, I-'

'I know that I'm not as young as Miss Lind; I know that I'm not as glamorous or as slim as she is but I never once thought that you would look at someone other than me like that. If you've – if you've gone off me or if you've gotten bored of me, Phinn, just tell me. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that it wouldn't kill me if you  _have,_ but at least you won't have to pretend for the rest of your life.' She then wiped beneath her eyes, refusing to meet his gaze. 'I'm exhausted; I'm going to bed. Make sure to lock the door before you come up.'

She then continued on up the staircase before turning to walk down the corridor that led to their bedroom. Phineas stood in silence for several long moments after hearing her close the bedroom door behind her, his heart aching as his eyes stung with tears and the words that his wife had just choked out echoed in his head. It killed him to know that he had led her to believe that he no longer found her beautiful; that he had gone off her – that was the farthest thing from the truth! He despised himself for how he had embarrassed her at the theatre; how he hadn't gone after her when she had left with their girls, but he couldn't change the past.

What he _could_  do, however, and what he was  _going_ to do was try his damn hardest to make things right.

 

* * *

 

 

Their bedroom was silent and dim when he walked inside after checking on Caroline and Helen a short time later, but he knew that – even though her back was to him – his wife was still awake. She had always found it so hard to fall asleep if she wasn't held in his arms; it was one of the things that he adored most about her. It didn't take him long to change out of his suit and into his pyjamas, a deep sigh escaping him as he pulled back the quilt and slipped into bed beside his wife before settling down behind her. Neither one of them said a word for several long minutes, but after a time the silence became too much for Phineas to bear and so he placed his hand upon Charity's hip through her nightgown before shuffling closer to her beneath the covers.

He stroked his thumb against her hipbone for a time as he nuzzled the soft blonde hairs at the nape of her neck with the tip of his nose, a small smile spreading across his features when she released a blissful hum as he left a slow open-mouthed kiss to the back of her neck. His arm wrapped around her middle as he left kiss after kiss upon her skin, his palm resting upon her stomach through her nightgown as he brought her close. 'I will never get bored of you, sweetheart.' He whispered in her ear after he had drawn back from her neck, his heart racing when she turned over in order to look into his eyes. 'I've been a complete idiot.' He told her as he ran his hand along the curve of her waist, the sadness evident in her gentle brown eyes as she nodded.

'I've led you to believe that I don't find you attractive anymore; that you're not the most important thing in the world to me and I hate myself for that. I realize now that I've been neglecting you and our daughters and putting unimportant matters before the three of you, and I need you to believe me when I tell you that I am never going to do that again. I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot about why I started the circus in the first place. I started it to give you the life that I promised you when you returned from finishing school.' His wife's lips curled up into a small smile at his words, her hands coming up to cup his face in their palms.

She smoothed her thumbs across his cheeks in a soothing manner for several seconds as she gazed into his eyes, his faint hum vibrating against her lips when she captured him in a languid kiss. Phineas threaded his fingers through her long blonde hair as their lips shifted over one another's in perfect sync, the two of them parting with a soft smack when the need for air became too intense for either of them to ignore. 'When we were young, you promised me a perfect life.' She reminded him when he wrapped his arms around her and held her flush against him. 'When we married, you gave me that. Do you remember that night when you came home from work after being dismissed and I was playing with the girls whilst finishing the laundry? I told you that I had everything I could have wanted and I meant it. Our apartment  _was_  small and it needed a lot of repairs, but there were so many memories made there. I and the girls didn't need all of this to be happy. You didn't have to give us all of this in order to give us a perfect life - you just had to keep loving us. The three of us will never want anything other than that from you.' Phineas felt his heart swell with love for her at that, his hand coming up to stroke several errant strands of hair back behind her ear as he grazed the tip of her pointed nose with his own. 'I love you so much, Phinn...' She whispered with a soft smile.

'And I love you.' He replied when their eyes met once more. 'No-one could  _ever_  replace you, darling, I promise you that. My heart belongs to you and no-one else, it always has done.'

The two of them indulged in another kiss then - this one longer and deeper than their first. She was unable to resist combing her fingers through his short dark strands of hair as he held her flush against him, her heart racing as their kiss took on somewhat of a more passionate nature and he cradled the back of her head in his palm. 'Phinn,' She murmured against his lips, smiling when he hummed in response and traced the curve of her skull with the pad of his thumb, 'Make love to me.'

He didn't need to be told twice.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed that and please comment down below what you thought, thanks! x


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